CRYPTIC CROSSWORDS BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE LESSON # 7 MIXED DEFINITIONS

A CRYPTIC CROSSWORDS BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE

LESSON # 7 MIXED DEFINITIONS

A fun feature of
cryptic solving occurs when the definitions of clues interact to mean
completely different things. It can happen when two or more words are used to
form the solution.

The change in
meaning is achieved simply by toying with the spacing as you will see from the
following examples.

“Railroad
enthusiast teaches famous young magician”. [12]

The main
definition is Railroad enthusiast for which the correct answer is TRAINSPOTTER. Note that the remainder
portion of the clue teaches famous young magician gives TRAINS POTTER as a mixed definition [Re
Harry Potter the young magician.] Study this next example.

“Stylish satirist
hammered”. [4-2]

For stylish the
two word definition is WITH IT and
the satirist hammered defines WIT
HIT as the answer.

This is an
exercise you can have a lot of fun with. You can even turn it into a parlour
game.

If you wish to improve your knowledge of
English, sharpen your cryptic solving skills and have fun as well with your
friends play this lesson as the Mixed
Definition game and see your vocabularies grow by leaps and bounds.

The essence of this game teaches deeper
understanding of cryptic crosswords while providing hours of educational
entertainment.

It can be played by a group of any size and
it takes a minimal amount of time to organize.

Even average intelligent children can
participate.

Begin by nominating a team leader for the
game.

For this game provide the team leader with
the clues which he calls out or writes down on a blackboard. Only he has the
list of the answers.

Each phrase sounds complicated and
senseless at times so the participants are obliged to don their thinking caps
to come up with the correct answers.

Here
are some examples:

The leader announces the following phrase
“Take pleasure in nothing”. He explains
that the solution is a four letter word starting with the letter L.

The players then put on their thinking caps
and compete to see who comes up with the required answer.

The phrase has a double meaning written in
such a way that the players are required to break down the word components or deploy cryptic
strategy if they are going to figure it out correctly.

The answer to this example is Love.

Do you get the idea? To take pleasure in is
to love and in some sports like tennis
love means a zero point or nothing.

Thus “Take pleasure in nothing” = Love

Here’s another example:

The leader will announce the following
phrase

“It is almost twelve, go to sleep. The
answer is a four letter word starting with the letter D”

Answer. Doze. Is correct for go to sleep. Doze would be almost twelve by adding N to
make a dozen.

The two aforementioned examples should get
you started but you will really catch on once you start playing the game. Each mixed definition question or clue is challenging but the answers are the real eye openers and represent educational in essence and the further you go the
more proficient you will become in the English language.

The leader will have a copy of the answers
on hand with full explanations as to how they were developed.

==============================================================

CLUES

Dragged to
marry. [5]……………………………………………………………...T

An opinion of
disgust. [8] ………………………………………………………............A

Surveys the
mineral and it is a mess.[1,6]………………………………………..........E

Slender ruler
concentrating. [4,4]…………………………………………………..........T

A piece of wood
on a ship [1,5]…………………………………………………..........A

What
peacemakers try to do is put at risk. [3,5]…………………………………........................E

He doesn’t
appreciate where to put the coal. [7]…………………………………............................I

Won’t travel to
stop evil. [5,2]………………….S

Owner’s horse
has a single problem. [4,3]………………………………………....................O

Comments 1 comment

“It is almost twelve, go to sleep. The answer is a four letter word starting with the letter D”

Find out in this lesson how to break down the text to arrive at the simple solution for clues of this nature.

If you wish to improve your knowledge of English, sharpen your cryptic solving skills and have fun as well with your friends play this lesson as the Mixed Definition game and see your vocabularies grow by leaps and bounds.

The essence of this game teaches deeper understanding of cryptic crosswords while providing hours of educational entertainment.

It can be played by a group of any size and it takes a minimal amount of time to organize.

Even average intelligent children can participate.

Begin by nominating a team leader for the game.

For this game provide the team leader with the clues which he calls out or writes down on a blackboard. Only he has the list of the answers.

Each phrase sounds complicated and senseless at times so the participants are obliged to don their thinking caps to come up with the correct answers.

Here are some examples:

The leader announces the following phrase “Take pleasure in nothing”. He explains that the solution is a four letter word starting with the letter L.

The players then put on their thinking caps and compete to see who comes up with the required answer.

The phrase has a double meaning written in such a way that the players are required to indulge in deep thought or cryptic strategy in order to figure it out correctly.

The answer to this example is Love.

Do you get the idea? To take pleasure in is to love and in some sports like tennis love means a zero point or nothing.